Tag Archives: John McCain

Man of the times

“And I regret some of the recent behavior Russia that has exhibited, and I’ll be glad to talk about that later on including reduction in oil supplies to Czechoslovakia after they agreed with us on a missile defense system, etcetera.” — John McCain, 2008-07-15.

Still, he’s learning to use The Interwebs. Right now if he needs to see a web site or e-mail he has his staff show it to him, because he can’t operate a web browser. Oh well, at least he knows what a telephone is, judging from the photo.

So, we could go from a President who knows how to use a computer but doesn’t read, to one who knows how to read but can’t use a computer.

“La la la la la!”

First we had an election landslide against the Republicans, in which the Iraq war was the #1 concern of voters.

Then we had an Iraq Study Group. It was described by the mainstream media as “bipartisan”. Here’s what “bipartisan” actually means:

  • Chairman James A. Baker III—Chief of Staff, Reagan; Secretary of State, Bush I.
  • Co-chairman Lee H. Hamilton—allegedly a Democrat. As chair of a previous Select Committee, he chose not to investigate Reagan or Bush I for their roles in the Iran-Contra scandal. He now sits on Bush II’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.
  • Lawrence S. Eagleburger—Secretary of State, Bush I.
  • Edwin S. Meese III—US Attorney General, Reagan.
  • Alan K. Simpson—Republican Senate whip, Reagan and Bush I.
  • Sandra Day O’Connor—ex Supreme Court justice appointed by Reagan.
  • William J. Perry—Secretary of Defense, Clinton; hence in charge of a decade of bombing of Iraq.
  • Charles S. Robb—the only Democrat to vote in favor of every item in the Republican “Contract with America”.
  • Leon Panetta—Democrat, but ex-Republican. Chief of Staff, Clinton, worked with Perry on killing tens of thousands of Iraqi children.
  • Vernon Jordan—an actual no-holds-barred Democrat?

So, not exactly a bunch of pinko French-speaking peaceniks. Everyone seemed to expect that their report would recommend deeper engagement. Bush said that the report would give the country an “opportunity to find common ground”. But when the actual report was read, it said that the Iraq war is an ongoing disaster and that we should try to pull out:

The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success [...]

Our most important recommendations call for new and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the region, and a change in the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq that will enable the United States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly. We believe that these two recommendations are equally important and reinforce one another.

And the result? The neocons turn on Baker and denounce him, and Bush opts for more troops for the long term fight. Allegedly sane Republican John McCain calls for more troops as well, in Afghanistan too.

Senior military staff are skeptical. There’s also the problem of where to get the actual troops, since the army is described as being at breaking point and in need of additional assistance from the National Guard and Reserves (who, remember, were supposed to be a strategic reserve to deal with crises within the USA).

But the big question I’m left wondering is: what would it take to get Bush and crew to listen? I can understand them ignoring intelligence reports, ignoring testimony from Iraqi defectors, ignoring millions of protesters marching in the streets, and so on. It’s harder to imagine how they can widen their ignorance until they’re even prepared to ignore and denounce their own people.

FYI for John McCain supporters

When John McCain said he was against a federal ban on gay marriage, a lot of people thought that meant he was a moderate and a supporter of equal rights who just couldn’t say so for political reasons. Well, no. It turns out he just thinks gay marriage and domestic partner benefits should be constitutionally banned at the state level instead. Which is what he said, albeit omitting spelling out his full thoughts in order to allow wishful thinking.

John McCain

Something to remember next time you’re tempted to view John McCain as the acceptable face of the Republican Party:

A last-minute amendment added by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would require the Department of Homeland Security to create an “integrated screening system” inside the United States.

McCain envisions erecting physical checkpoints, dubbed “screening points,” near subways, airports, bus stations, train stations, federal buildings, telephone companies, Internet hubs and any other “critical infrastructure” facility deemed vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Secretary Tom Ridge would appear to be authorized to issue new federal IDs–with biometric identifiers–that Americans could be required to show at checkpoints.

—ZDnet

Is it safe?

Jimmy Carter has written a letter to Zell Miller, who treated us all to rabid anti-Kerry rantings at the Republican National Convention last week:

Perhaps more troublesome of all is seeing you adopt an established and very effective Republican campaign technique of destroying the character of opponents by wild and false allegations. The Bush campaign’s personal attacks on the character of John McCain in South Carolina in 2000 was a vivid example. The claim that war hero Max Cleland was a disloyal American and an ally of Osama bin Laden should have given you pause, but you have joined in this ploy by your bizarre claims that another war hero, John Kerry, would not defend the security of our nation except with spitballs. (This is she same man whom you described previously as “one of this nation’s authentic heroes, one of this party’s best-known and greatest leaders—and a good friend.”)

Rush

After comparing [Rush] Limbaugh to a “circus clown,” the Arizona Republican [John McCain] apologized. “I regret that statement,” he told an interviewer on Fox News the other night, “because my office has been flooded with angry phone calls from circus clowns all over America. They resent that comparison, and so I would like to extend my apologies to Bozo, Chuckles and Krusty.”